District of Armors & Virtues
by Rogue Ronin
Summary: The districts are on the brinks of war. No one really wants to admit it but deep down they know it's coming. It is foreseen in the District of Dreams this war is about to pass. Sides are starting to form, the Districts of Justice, Trust, Dreams, Virtue, Wisdom and Life will start to form one alliance while the other Districts of Loyalty/Cruelty, Obedience/Corruption and etc...
1. Chapter 1

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**Disclaimer: I do not own anything in association with Ronin Warriors. The only characters in which I claim rights to are my original ones which readers may or may not recognize from my past works of fiction. My muse for this tale is from the Hunger Games Trilogy. By no means is this in the Hunger Games story, nor is it a cross-over of any kind. It is just an idea which came from reading the books. This is an alternate universe Ronin Warriors tale. **  
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**Author's Note: Each person mentioned from the districts knows how to fight one way or another. The main people from each district are guardians for their homelands. They each have mystical animals linked to them which are either tattooed on their bodies or housed inside mystical gems they wear or on their weapons. Enjoy! Ja Ne!**  
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District of Armors and Virtues  
By Rogue Ronin

List of places, and characters:

These are the northern districts which they have alliances with one another.

District of Justice-Kento is the commander of the militia and police forces. He has a dragon which is the Asian Lung. It is 15' tall and 40' long torso, no wings but has 4 legs with 5 toes on each claw. On the head it has stag like horns, long whiskery feelers, and a mane. The body has large scales with a reddish-yellow coloring and a feathered tail. The forms of attack for his dragon are its horns, teeth, and claws. Here is where the laws are written and passed for the districts. This is also where military and police are first trained before they go back to their original districts in order to pick up more training of their designated homelands. The District of Justice is also a place where the detention centers are located for those who are awaiting trial or have been through trial and serving their sentence. The main senator's name is Ming, a male.

District of Trust-Cye is the head of the peace keepers. Cye's dragon is the Amphithere. The body is 45' long and 10' tall, body coloring is greenish. It has no legs, but does have huge wings, feathery tail and a mane. The attacks are flaming breath, tail lash and constriction. This is where the peace summits are held every year, unless there is an emergency peace meeting, then the head senators from each district can call an emergency session. It is also a place where one learns how to trust in ones self and others. It is neutral for all districts. The main senator's name is Aquine, a female.

District of Dreams-Kaye is the dream walker who resides in this district. Her mystical animal is a silver tiger with golden stripes and golden eyes. The tiger is 11' long and about 5' tall. He can talk to who he wishes mentally and can teleport. People who live here work with dreams of the past, present, and future. They dream walk with those who come to look for meaning in their dreams. Also the dream walker can go inside of the dreams of the enemy to find Intel on others but only for a short amount of time. The main senator's name is Dyson, a male.

District of Life-Rowen is the headmaster here. This is where the value of life is taught, also where people learn how to make a living from the land like farming, or working with animals and hospitals. Rowen's creature is the European Dragon. The body is 45' long and 17' tall with red and green coloring. It has 4 legs, large wings to fly. The tail is arrowhead in shape, it has thick spines, scales, and fanged teeth. His dragon has extremely good sense of sight. The main senator's name is Cyna, a female.

District of Wisdom-Sage is referred to the enlightened one from his followers who live here. This district is where people come to learn about anything and everything they want to know, a scholarly place. A place of enlightenment for scholars and religious practitioners of different styles of religion. Sage has the Marsupial Dragon. It is 25' long and 18' tall. It has powerful hind legs like a kangaroo and very short wings. The body coloring is bluish. The forms of attack are flaming breath, lashing tail, kicking feet and boxing fists. The main senator's name is Pax, a male.

District of Virtue-Ryo head of the civil code behaviorists. They teach people about ethics, difference between right and wrong, as well as finding one's courage to do what is right. Ryo's mystical animal is White Blaze aka Black Blaze The main senator's name is Maxon, a male.

The next set are the southern districts which are aligned with the Capitol/Dynasty. When war comes in this story, the southern districts who border one another will either side with their neighbor or they will rebel against their neighbor. In the beginning of the story before the war the weaker neighbor is uncertain which decision they will sway towards until the war starts.

District of Loyalty/Cruelty-They border one another with Anubis ruling over both districts. The main senator's name for the District of Loyalty is Finitia, a female. The main senator's name for the District of Cruelty is Kala, a female. Anubis has the Tibetan Dragon. It is 40' long and 12' high, red in color. It has 4 legs, and no wings. On the head are stag like horns, as well as long, whiskey feelers. Forms of attack are biting and constricting.

District of Obedience/Corruption-They border one another with Cale ruling over both districts. The main senator's name for District of Obedience is Eva, a female. The main senator's name for the District of Corruption is Siber, a male. Cale has the Frost Dragon. It is 40' long and 15' tall, the body is muscular, has 4 legs, and an extremely long tail as well as wings, claws, and horns. The coloring of the body is white with blue tinge. Forms of attack are frosty blast, the tail, claws and horns.

District of Serenity/Illusion-They border one another with Dais ruling over both districts. The main senator's name of District of Serenity is Tenna, a female. The main senator's name for the District of Illusion is Tomas, a male. Dais has the Wyvern, it is 50' long and 20' tall. It has only 2 legs, has brown coloring, 2 legs, large bat like wings. Forms of attack are the teeth, claws, the lashing tail, and dropping things from great heights.

District of Piety/Venom-They border one another with Sekhmet ruling over both districts. The main senator's name for District of Piety is Mezu, a male. The main senator's name for District of Venom is Venon, a male. Sekhmet has the Knucker Dragon. It is 30' long and 6' high, with 4 short legs, and very short wings which does not fly. It has leathery brown coloring. The forms of attacks are its venomous bite and constriction.

Capitol/Dynasty-Talpa rules over all southern districts who claim loyalty to the capitol. Talpa's dragon is similar to Cale's Frost Dragon, except Talpa's is the Night Dragon which is 45' long and 20' tall. It has a muscular body, 4 legs, an extremely long tail and wings. The coloring is black with red tinge. Forms of attack are fire blast, tail, claws, and horns, as well as its roar. The senator's name for the Capitol/Dynasty is Badamon, a male ruler of the nether spirits and leader of the southern districts' spies.


	2. Chapter 2

The pearl-white moon peaked out from the dense smoke which rose from the ruined cities with chunks of iron and concrete littered the ground. Shards of glass were strewed along the earth like morning dew.

As they turned the next corner, they froze and their hearts leapt into their throats as the air cut off any sound of warning. Shadows popped out of nowhere and stood before them with weapons drawn. The shadows brought them up and everything went black, except for four sets of red eyes as they stared back in dangerous glee.

Kaye shot up with a start in her bed. Her hands shook with intensity, she clutched her sheets so tight her knuckles turned white. Kaye's eyes became wide when the scene cut back into her mind. Kaye's tears started to brim as her eyes became soft and her body was no longer tense. What did she envision? A past dream, or a possible future event which was waiting around the corner. She needed to explore further before alerting the other districts. Now was not the time to set a panic, things were tense enough with the rumors of the Capitol and their alliance with the southern districts.

Kaye stood up and walked to the back door as she gazed through the window. She thought maybe some time in the reflecting pool would help clarify what she had seen. Kaye walked out and started on her way. She frowned and continued to walk, not paying attention to her surrounding.

The small group she passed greeted her but frowned when Kaye did not reply. They realized her destination, she would not go unless she had a very disturbing dream. The small group raced towards the senate in order to inform them of Kaye's destination.

The five members of the senate stood up as the small group burst inside the room. "What is the meaning of this intrusion?"

"We are sorry to burst in without being announced, but this is important!"

"What is to be so important to forget protocol?"

"Kaye is making her way to the reflecting pool!"

The five senate members glanced at one another as they spoke in hushed tones. They turned their attention towards the small group, "Do not speak of this to anyone."

"But…"

"No! Now go!" The senate members dismissed them and locked the doors after they were gone.

Kaye's tiger was summoned to the senate, "We need for you to confirm Kaye's dream. She is at the reflecting pool as we speak." The senate studied the tiger and were relieved when he gave a nod and disappeared. "Now all we can do is wait."

"This will confirm what the people fear the most." The first seat, Dyson said.

"Yes, a war among the districts as well as the Capitol." The second seat replied with a grave nod.

"This can not be avoided any longer. Each district did what was possible in order to prepare their people."

"But will our preparations be enough?"

"We will not find out until the war has started. For now, all we can do is wait on what is to come."

"Who will we send from our district?" The members of the senate looked at one another.

"The only one we can send, she who dreamed what is to come in the first place."

"Do you think she will be ready?"

"She must be, we have no other choice and we are running out of time. War is on the horizon, and we are to prepare for the worst."

Lightning did not take long to appear at his destination. He walked around and found Kaye as she stared deep into the pool. He sensed the tension immediately when he walked further into the room.

Kaye did not need to turn around to figure out who arrived. "Lightning, I witnessed the destruction, and the pool confirmed my dream, the war is closer than we thought."

The tiger walked up next to her and scanned her face. He saw concern laced within her eyes. This war was not be avoided any longer. The Capitol and the southern districts were already forming an alliance. They had to hurry and strengthen their own with the northern districts or else they would be crushed.

Kaye turned her gaze down at the tiger, "The senate sent you to come for me when they heard I was here."

Lightning gave a nod and turned towards the door. He walked to the opening and stopped as he looked back waiting for her to follow.

Kaye turned away from the pool and walked towards the tiger. Once she stood beside him the two of them disappeared from the reflecting pool and reappeared in front of the senate.

Each member of the senate held a different parchment with a seal of the District of Dreams along the side of another seal from the ones from the north; District of Justice, District of Trust, District of Life, District of Wisdom, and the District of Virtue. The senate presented the parchments to her.

Kaye stepped forward and took each parchment and placed them into her satchel. She stepped back and studied the senate members, "You are sending me to figure out if I can strengthen the unification of our alliances with them am I right?"

"Yes, but you will not be alone. He will be going with you."

Kaye's eyes trailed to Lightning and back at the senate, "How can I be certain they will believe what I tell them?"

"You will not. Which is why you must convince them about what you dreamed. This is also why you will hold the parchments with each district's appointed champion written on the outside. But the name will not appear until the champion takes hold of it."

Kaye was angry. How was she suppose to find them when she does not even know who to search for in the first place?

The senate acknowledged the anger and uncertainty in her eyes. "We understand we are asking you to go on a very dangerous mission. Not only are we asking you to strengthen the unification of our alliances, but you also realize you will fight along side them as well."

Kaye turned her head away from them for a moment and turned her focus back to the senate. Her voice was soft, but yet strong, "Yes, I understand and I accept what is asked of me."

"If any other recourse could have been possible, we would have tried that first."

"I understand. Now if you will excuse me, I need to go and prepare." Kaye replied as she turned and walked away.

Lightning stayed for a short while longer and studied the senate. He growled a bit, as he picked up on something they were hiding. He did not like this sensation, whatever he sensed he figured they were not going to say anything.

"Lightning, let us go." Kaye called out to him.

The tiger turned away from the senate and ran up to Kaye's side and walked beside her.

Each senate member eyed one another after they left. "He suspects something." Said the third seat.

"He always does when it comes to missions. Especially when she is involved." Replied the fourth.

"Of course he would he is her father."

"As far as she remembers he died in the last war. She does not need to find out what really happened."

"I disagree, she has the right to know."

"No! the issue is dead, and so is he. It is for the best."

One by one the five members of the senate left and decided they needed to get the people prepared as the best they could for what was to come in the near future.

When Kaye and Lightning arrived to her home, he sat by the door and waited as she finished getting ready for the trip. She slipped off her satchel and laid it on her bed. Kaye changed her clothes into something more suitable for travel and fighting.

Kaye found her small backpack and filled with food rations, water, first aide, and her satchel with the parchments. She pulled the pack upon her back and secured it. Kaye found her retractable bo staff and locked into place under her right forearm.

Lightning stood when he figured she was ready to go. He walked over to her side. He felt her hand scratch behind his ears as he rumbled low in indication enjoying the attention.

Kaye looked down at him and gave a small smile, "Alright, Lightning I am ready."

Within a blink of an eye, the two vanished not knowing if or when they will be coming back home.


	3. Chapter 3

"My liege, sorry to disturb you during your interrogation." Badamon said as he entered the room.

Talpa glanced back as he lowered his blade, "What is it?"

Badamon bowed, "Seems the District of Dreams sent an emissary to try and strengthen the unification of the northern districts so they can fight against us."

Talpa's eyes glowed as he tightened his grip on the handle, "Who did the senate send?"

"My spies inform me it is the female dream walker, Kaye of the Tiger Armor."

"So she survived, he actually found a way to trick me after all. Tell me Badamon, how is it your spies were not able to find this out years later?" Talpa asked as he thrust the blade deep into the prisoner's side.

Badamon waited to reply after the prisoner yelled from the excruciating pain. "I do not understand my liege, but now they will be able to…"

Talpa cut him off as he slashed up in a diagonal line from the prisoner's side through the opposite shoulder. "No more excuses! Follow her, do not engage, not yet. Watch what happens. It might not be possible for her to unite them. But if she some how finds a way, do what is necessary to either get rid of her, or if you can not bring her to me so I can take care of her myself."

Badamon bowed deep and observed as the prisoner's dead body fell away from Talpa's blade and onto the floor.

Talpa flicked blood from his blade and sheathed it into his side, "Do not disappoint me again. Do you understand?"

"Of course my liege."

"Do something about this trash and clean up the mess." Talpa ordered as he left the interrogation room.

Badamon watched him leave and glanced at the mess before him. He ordered four of the slaves to take the body away, "Make sure you put it up along with the others as a reminder to those who choose to oppose the Capitol. You two, clean up the blood, and make sure the floor shines." He supervised four of the slaves pick up and carried the dead body to the back of the capitol.

The four slaves hoisted up the carcass and secured it to the posts. They walked away without a second glance. The slaves did not need to look around to see where they had been. It is a part of the Capitol where it was forbidden to enter without Talpa's orders.

Rows upon rows of dead bodies and skeletons secured to posts littered the ground. They did it so there would to be a constant reminder to what will happen if anyone crossed the Capitol, or allied with the northern districts.

The four walked along in silence, their heads down. None of them dared to glance around their surroundings for fear they would be next. The four slaves entered inside the Capital to their dank, and poor lit rooms until they were summoned again.

Badamon stayed and oversaw the cleaning of the blood from the floor. He inspected their work, "Fine, put them away and get out of my sight!"

The two slaves got to their feet and hurried away with the supplies as they left the room.

Badamon left and decided to go and find Talpa. He walked down the halls until he arrived to the main room. Badamon found Talpa and the southern districts discussing the finalization of their alliance. He stood in the far corner and continued to watch.

"Our alliance is determined, tell me what is going on in your districts." Talpa said as he looked at each of them.

Cale stood as he addressed the group, "The troops are getting stronger day by day. Soon, you will have an unbeatable army."

Anubis saw Cale as he sat he took his turn, "The weapons are coming along, the supply is almost filled. We will have more than enough to crush any enemy."

Talpa gave a small nod and glanced towards the other two, "Sekhmet, Dais anything to report?"

The representatives from the District of Venom and Illusion glanced at one another and back to him. "We have heard rumors about the northern districts strengthening their alliances. Should we crush them now since we have the advantage?"

Talpa stood up and slammed his fists into the table which made them shoot up more in their seats. His eyes flared with intensity, and calmed once again. "Every district believes the rumors of another war. But the north did nothing in order to prepare for the oncoming onslaught. Their people relaxed a bit from the rumors over time. I had Badamon's spies keep close tabs on them ever since the end of the last war. We will strike but only when I say! As we speak, the District of Dreams sent an emissary to the others in the north to talk to them. At this time we will watch the northern districts closely. I also gave him other orders in which all of you will partake, but only when I say."

"My liege, who did they send?" Cale asked, "Whoever it was could not be too much of a problem."

Talpa's eyes glowed as he narrowed them at him, "They sent Lightning's daughter!"

The four Warlords looked at each other in surprise and back towards Talpa. They saw he was serious in his answer.

Talpa sat back down, "go back to your districts. Make sure to increase the training, enforce your rules. Leave nothing to chance, I do not want to lose a single battle. Make examples of those who even think of rebellion. If anyone speaks against the southern districts or even the Capitol, mark them as traitors and treat them as so. Do I make myself clear?" He eyed them nod as they left the room.


	4. Chapter 4

Kaye and Lightning appeared at the District of Justice on the boarder between the mountains and the forest. Not far off stood a training facility built for the military and police which trained those from the northern districts.

The dream walker looked at the tiger as she pulled up her hood and secured her bo and backpack. "From what I can remember, the nearest town should be a couple of miles to the east. Once we arrive, I can talk to their senate and hope they will help us."

Lightning looked up towards her and rumbled, 'I do not like the idea of you walking alone out here.'

"You worry too much. They are our allies, they will not hurt me. Besides, I can fend for myself if need to be, and if things get way out of hand I can always call you." Kaye replied when she smiled at him.

'Watch yourself, I would not doubt the districts from the south have spies watching us and the others.'

"I understand, but this trip is for diplomacy not to fight. So I think it be better if you would just…"

Lightning did not need Kaye to finish, the tiger vanished as his markings showed up on the gem which was embedded on her silver necklace.

Once she knew he was secured, she started out on the trail which traveled east. As she walked, memories of her childhood started to surface. They were about the ones she met in each district. Time moved on and so did each of them to their respective districts as they were called back to their homes. Kaye started to wonder how they were doing, what became of them? How much they changed, or did they change at all?

A good fifteen minutes or so before she heard people yelled for her to stop. She snapped out of her thoughts and wondered if she should stay and hold her ground, or to run. Kaye glanced back and saw them running faster towards her, the expressions on their faces meant business. In a last minute decision, she chose to run. Maybe she would have been able to lose them or at least try to, Kaye understood this was their home where they had the advantage, but she figured she had to at least try.

The patrol shouted for her to stop again but they caught a glimpse of the person in front of them kept running. They looked at one another and decided to split into two smaller groups in order to try and cut her off.

Kaye glanced back as they started to go their separate ways. She frowned knowing it was going to be more than a little difficult than she realized. Kaye checked ahead and spotted a bridge on her left and a section of caves on her right. She had to make a quick decision, if she went to the caves, she could hide out and wait for them to give up the search. But if she took the bridge, she might possibly come across a main road of some kind. The fork in the path was coming up fast, a choice had to be made.

As she was at the fork the patrol watched her. She made a sharp right, Kaye was going for the caves. The group which was closer signaled the other and they go the message as they changed directions. Both groups spread themselves out in order to cover more ground.

Kaye glanced on both sides, she was being boxed in much quicker than she realized. She narrowed her eyes in annoyance and slight anger for her situation. Maybe she should have sent word of her arrival before this mess started. This was no time for maybes, as she found herself running through a shallow part of the river. Kaye skidded to a stop, the two groups as they surrounded her in a circle formation.

The patrol eyed Kaye carefully as they kept their attention towards her. "You gave us quite a chase. We should not had to chase you down in the first place if you stayed where you were."

Kaye pulled her hood closer to her face as she eyed the circle. She had to figure a way out of this mess. Kaye felt Lightning's spirit pulsating in the gem. She wrapped her hand around it in order to calm him.

"You can either tell us why you are here and how you got through our check points without anyone seeing you. Or we can take you in for questioning."

Kaye lowered her hand from the gem and laid her hand on her bo she had hidden under her right forearm. She shook her head as she shifted into a defense stance.

All at once, the patrol were the ones who advanced towards her. They did not witness Kaye pull out her bo from its hiding place and extended it to full length.

Kaye remembered something someone told her about fighting in groups, they all get in each others way. So it would be harder for them to get a hold of her as they kept on ramming into one another as they were trying to rush her. She was doing fine as she held her own for a while at least, but Kaye figured with this many people fighting she would tire out before them. After a few more combinations, her bo was kicked out of her hands and flew off to the side.

The patrol grabbed onto Kaye from both sides and took her backpack as they also pulled down her hood. "What the!? A girl!"

Kaye narrowed her eyes as she fought to get free, "Yea! So what I am a girl! I suggest you let me go and give me back my backpack!"

A familiar chuckle broke the air, "I think you better do what the lady says."

The patrol let Kaye go as they saw who approached, "Commander, you know this girl?"

Kento's eyes gleamed in mischief as he smirked and handed Kaye her bo. "You could say I do. Hi Kaye, been a while."

Kaye took back her bo and shrank it to its portable size and put it back in its place. She also reclaimed her backpack as well, "Yea, a long time."

Kento glanced around the patrol, "You are dismissed. Go back to the training facility and continue your drills." He brought his attention over to her, "We have some catching up to do."

"Yes sir! May we ask to who she is?"

Kaye narrowed her eyes at the patrol, "My name is Kaye, I am from the District of Dreams."

"That means you are a…"

Kaye gave a small nod, "A dream walker, yes."

So she was the one the commander talked about from time to time. The patrol came to realize they had made a major mistake and apologized to her before they left.

Kaye secured her backpack to her and looked at Kento as they started to walk to the bridge where he was parked. "So, you are a commander now."

Kento gave a nod, "And you reached your dream walker status."

"Majority, I am still working on getting better the process still takes a lot out of me. Depending what is going on of course. And how is it you have reached being commander already?"

"Yea well it has been almost fifteen years since we saw each other."

"I thought it was closer to ten rather than fifteen."

"We were ten years old the last time we saw one another." Kento pointed out as he opened the passenger door for her.

"You could have written you know." Kaye said as she got inside.

Kento shut the passenger door and hopped into the driver's seat and started to drive. He glanced over and saw she was still waiting for his answer. "I heard about your dad, I am sorry for your loss."

Kaye turned her gaze to the passenger window. Her voice was quiet, "Thank you, but I am still waiting for your response about not writing me back."

Kento turned his gaze back to the road, "I know I did not write back. I mean to, it is just I did not know what to say. I got into my training and I climbed up the ladder to where I am now. It took up all of my time."

Kaye balled her hands into fists, "So, that is your excuse for not writing? I wrote to you!"

"I know you did Kaye, and to this day I still have every letter you have written me." Kento replied as he reached over and laid his hand over her fist.

Kaye glanced over towards him and relaxed, "You kept each one?"

Kento glanced over and gave a nod as he turned onto the main road. He saw her smile and he moved his hand back to the wheel. "So, what is with the sudden dropping in? How come you did not send work you were coming?"

Kaye laughed, "And what? Miss giving your troops a workout?"

He chuckled, "It was good to see your fighting has improved. It was a good show."

"You were watching the whole time, and you did nothing to prevent it?"

"Hey now, you are the one who came here unannounced. So what were we to think? Which brings me back to my question."

Kaye grew silent as they were closer to town.

"Kaye, come on you can tell me. It is about the rumors of the war right?"

"Yes, I had a dream about what is to come. I already confirmed it with the reflecting pool as well as the senate from my district. I need to talk with your senate as well as the other four in order to strengthen our union against the southern ones and the Capitol. Because if we do not, we will not stand a chance."

Kento signaled the guards at their posts to let him and Kaye through the gates and into town. He drove on ahead as the gate closed behind them. Kento parked and turned off his vehicle as he turned to face her. "Kaye, you do not need to persuade me. I will help you get in to see them."


	5. Chapter 5

"Talon, Kane, look alive! You two have a visitor." The guard said as he banged on the bars. "I said get up you worthless scum!"

They glanced at one another and got up from the floor. "I suggest officer, you address us with a more respectable tone."

"If you two want your next meal, you will follow orders. Now, get a move on."

"Listen here you…" Kane said as he narrowed his eyes and growled low in his throat.

"Kane, relax there is no point in arguing with him. Let us see who is gracing us with their presence." Talon said as he redirected his cellmate.

The two prisoners followed the guard through the halls. Guards were posted at every corner on the catwalks so they are able to observe the entire floor. Talon and Kane kept their eyes peeled and counted every guard on duty. They had been trying to figure out the prison system, but had no real luck until now where they caught their break. Talon and Kane glanced at one another as they wondered who would want to visit them.

The guard took them to the small visitor's room, monitored by video and extra guards. Only one way in and one way out. The guard left the three alone.

Talon and Kane stared at their so called visitor, "Who are you?"

"All you need to know is Badamon sent me."

The two prisoners looked at one another and back at him, "What does the Capitol want with us? We are not traitors to the southern districts."

"How many of you are held here who are from the southern parts? Who do you know who would stand with us if the situation presented itself?"

"Well depends on what is in it for all of those involved with whatever you plan of course." Talon replied.

"Yea, even though we are loyal to the Capitol, Talon and I just do not work for anybody." Kane shot back in annoyance.

"Kane enough, let us hear what he has to say first and then make up our minds." Talon replied as he let their visitor speak.

"I see at least one of you has a brain."

"I advise you, it is not wise to provoke him or me, now unless you have something interesting for us to hear, I suggest we leave this little meeting." Talon replied as the two of them were about to walk to the door.

"What would you say I could offer you both your freedom as well as a high office within the Capitol?"

Talon and Kane stopped dead in their tracks. They turned around and looked at him with curiosity.

"I thought it would get your attention. Now shall we get to business?" The spy said as he talked about his plan with the two convicts. The three of them huddled down closer to one another as they could not be heard by the guards outside the door. Once they were done they broke apart.

"So do we have a deal or do I go somewhere else?"

"You have a deal, but how do we know you will keep your end of it?" Kane asked with a suspicious look.

"You will just have to trust me."

"Trust is a two way street, so you better not cross us. Otherwise, we will have a problem." Talon replied.

"Just make sure you two do you part and I will hold up my end of the bargain. You send me word once you have collected the ones you need and then I will send the next part of the plan to you."

Talon and Kane gave a nod as they knocked on the door. The two convicts were led out of the visitor's room and back to their cell.

"What makes you so sure about this guy Talon?"

"Take it easy Kane, I already know we can trust him."

"Oh really and how is that by chance?"

"Simple." Talon replied as he showed him a key their visitor gave him when they were huddled together.

Kane raised a brow, "How did he get?"

Talon silenced him long enough until they were back into their cell. When he saw the guard locked them inside he ushered Kane to the far wall. "I see our new friend has more talent that we give him credit for. Now all we have to do is wait until dark, and when the guards start their shift change and then we will start our revolution and overtake this prison from within!"


	6. Chapter 6

It didn't take Kento long to get Kaye an audience with the senate from the District of Justice. The two of them walked through the halls and then waited at the door to be announced.

Kaye glanced over at him, "Kento, you are fidgeting."

Kento glanced back with a smirk, "Yea well, so are you."

Kaye felt a blush as it crept upon her cheeks and then it clamed. "I am not much for politics."

Kento chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head, "I never have been much for them either, but if it is the only way to get things done then I guess we have no other choice."

Kaye was about to reply when the doors opened before them. They were announced to the senate and motioned to come forward. Once they were standing in front of the senate things were quiet for a while as they studied one another.

"You caused quite a stir earlier young lady," The fifth seat said with a raised brow, "Coming to our district with no advanced communication."

"I am sorry sir, but time is in short supply, especially with what will happen. We need to strengthen our union with each other, all of us. This was the first place I thought would be able to understand what I came here to do." Kaye replied as she started to state her case.

"You are talking about the rumors. They are nothing but words spoken by frightened people who survived the last war. We are in the time of peace. There is no need to…"

"No! You are wrong! I saw it in my dream! You know what I am and what I can do! Believe me when I tell you the rumors are true! The war is coming and the southern districts have already solidified their union to the Capitol!" Kaye shouted back.

Kento held her back from advancing forward upon the senate. He held her there until she calmed herself, and then he let go but not before he made sure she was calm.

"Commander I suggest you keep your friend in line or else."

"Sir, in all due respect, I believe what Kaye is saying to be true. We have known one another for a long time. She would not lie about something like this." Kento said in her defense.

"You show great loyalty towards her commander, it is no wonder to why you raised in the ranks so quickly. But we need proof of what she says before we can determine any kind of action." The second seat replied.

"Proof? Wait, I have the proof you are asking for," Kaye replied as she took off her backpack and opened it as she set it down upon the floor. She rifled through the opening and found her satchel. Kaye reached inside and pulled out the parchment with the seal from the District of Dreams as well as the District of Justice. She presented it to them. "This is the proof you require. I know you recognize it."

The senate members looked at one another and talked then they looked towards them. "Yes, we do recognize the parchment. It is a pact between our districts to be only presented when the time of crisis is upon us for when we choose a champion from our home to go with you in this war."

Kento looked upon the senate with a strong gaze, "You do not need to choose anyone, I volunteer to go with her."

"There is no need for you to volunteer commander. The name on the parchment will tell us who will be chosen. Do you not trust your own men to carry out this quest?" The fourth seat asked.

"I trust my men with my very life sir, and I would trust them to help Kaye as well, but I feel this is my responsibility to go." Kento replied as he stood his ground.

"Take into consideration the people you govern. The families, the children, how can you sit there and dictate what course you will take when you are being too stubborn to see what is happening around you? It will not be only the other districts in the north, it will be all of us. We are all affected by this war I saw in my dream, and deep down you know I am right." Kaye stated in a determined tone.

The five senate members motioned to a guard to bring the parchment Kaye held to them.

Kento changed his stance as he stood in the guard's way. His eyes narrowed into slits as he challenged him to take one step closer. He relaxed his body when he felt Kaye's hand squeezed his arm. Kento looked back from the corner of his eye and saw her shake her head. He frowned a little and then gave a nod as he returned back to the way he stood before.

Kaye held out the parchment for the guard to take and then let go of it when she saw him take it from her. She watched the guard give it to the senate.

They looked it over and talked among themselves, and looked back towards them. "You are correct in what you say dream walker. We have been suspicious of the rumors if they were true or not. But now you have confirmed our suspicions. We will comply to your request and stand behind the District of Dreams."

Kaye and Kento looked at one another and gave a smile they looked back at the senate. "Thank you, now all is left is to figure out who from here will be coming with me."

"That is easy, I already said I would."

"Kento, you are needed here. You are the commander, I could not take you away from your troops when they will need you the most." Kaye replied as she looked at him.

"No Kaye, you are the one who needs me the most. Rather you want to admit to it or not." Kento pointed out, "Besides, my troops are very capable of defending their home as well as our allies."

"There is an easy way to figure this out," The second seat put in, "Commander, come forward and claim the parchment."

Kento frowned a little but none the less walked forward and watched him hand over the parchment. He took it from the second seat and just as he did, Kento's name appeared on it clear as day. He turned around and faced her with a huge grin on his face. "See, I told you I was coming with you. It is written right here."

Kaye ran up to Kento's side and looked at the parchment. She saw his name right there plain as day. She looked up at him and smiled.

"Commander! Sorry for the intrusion, but there is a problem." Captain Yamato exclaimed as he burst into the room.

Kento frowned when he turned to face him. "What are you talking about captain?"

"There is a riot happening at the prison."

"Which prison captain?"

"The main one a block away from here sir."

The senate members looked at one another and back to Kento, "What are you going to do commander?"

Kento closed his eyes as he thought long and hard on his decision. His eyes opened, "Rally what troops you can and form a barricade. Alert medical, tell them to be on stand by for treating anyone who is injured."

The captain bowed and left to fulfill his orders.

Kento glanced at the senate and turned to face Kaye, "I need for you to stay here."

Kaye frowned at him, "Kento, I am not just going to stay behind and wait for you to come back."

Kento shook his head, "I want you to stay with the senate members because it is the safest place in the district."

"You know I can fight, you have seen me."

"This is not about you fighting. This is my job. Please Kaye, I do not want to worry about your safety." His eyes became soft as he brought up his hand and in a gentle manner held the side of her face.

Kaye's eyes softened as well, her tension gone from her body. She sighed and gave a small nod as she reached for his hand as well. "Alright, I will stay, but do not think I will like it."

Kento chuckled as he pulled his hand away. "I will be back, and once this thing is done we will get ready and go to the next district after things are all set here."

"Here, take these so both of you can keep in contact." The fourth seat said as he presented them both with tiny earphones. They watched as the two secured them into place. "Good luck commander."

Kento bowed to the senate and turned his attention to Kaye. Their eyes connected. He nodded and ran out of the room.

Kaye hurried over to the covered balcony and watched overhead. She could see him as well as the barricade which was set in place. The medical personal and the troops waited for their commander.

Kaye felt herself blush a bit when she remembered what happened between them before he left. Maybe it was a spur of the moment emotional reaction to the intense situation. Maybe not, was it something more? It was hard for her to know for sure. She snapped out of it when she heard Kento as he put things into play.

"What is the situation up to now Captain Yamato?"

"Commander! It seems from what we can tell the uprising was started by Talon and Kane. They rallied the others from the southern districts to help them."

Kento frowned, "How could they have constructed this? They were suppose to be in solitaire."

"We are still investigating sir. But from what we found out so far, they had a visitor."

"Why now? Ever since they have been arrested five years ago, the two of them had no visitations from anyone." Kento stared at the prison's front door, "Unless…"

"Unless what sir?"

"Captain, once this uprising is settled, we will need to talk to them."

"How are we going to proceed?"

"Keep them back, no matter what do not let anyone through until you get my signal." Kento replied as he walked past the barricade and right through the front door as he disappeared from sight.

The static which came from the earphone crackled and it annoyed him as he shut it off. Kento knew he was going to get it from Kaye when he saw her again. He shook his head in slight amusement as he continued through.

Not a single prisoner nor solider made a move as he walked by. Kento stopped in the very center of the prison, "I want to talk to Talon and Kane!"

"I should say I am honored to be talking with the commander in person." Talon replied as he appeared from the catwalk.

"How about you and your buddy come down and talk face to face?"

"Kane will not be able to join us, but I will come down." Talon took a hold of the railing and leapt down to the main floor. He took his time as he stood. Once he was up, he was not phased from the hard landing. What else was to be expected from an assassin who was sent away from the southern districts?

Kento frowned something about this uprising did not sit right with him. Why after all this time would they start something in his district? Unless… The reason hit him like a ton of bricks, the uprising, rumors of the war, their visitor, Kaye's visit.

"What is the matter commander, cat has your tongue?"

"You and Kane were not sent away as you two stated when you were brought in. The two of you were placed here in order to organize this little uprising in order to draw our attention to the prison and away from somewhere else."

"Very good you are not as slow on the uptake as I originally thought."

"How about you and your little band here release my troops and go back to your cells. So the medics can check over and treat the wounded."

"I have heard you had a very busy day. Someone came into the district and gave your troops a run for their money. I find it interesting it was an old girlfriend of yours from when you were a kid. How did the reunion go with her, did you two pick up where you left off? I was also wondering how did the meeting with the senate go. Did you get things settled?"

Kento tensed, how did he know all of this? How and who gave him this information? Was there someone in his ranks who betrayed him and their home? He could not wrap his head around the possibility. There was no way his troops would do this, he trusted them.

Talon laughed, "What is the matter, did I strike a nerve?"

"How did you…" Kento started to ask as he felt his body tense even more.

Talon raised a brow towards him as he smirked, "Kane and I have been here long enough to hear things. It does not take much to learn everything about one's home and the people they are with from day to day. The troops forget we are here, and they go on and talk about everything that is how we know. But now, it does not matter for you are trapped in here along with your troops, while my colleagues from the southern district and I hold the upper hand, so to speak."

Kento's eyes narrowed into slits, "I am going to ask only one more time. Where is Kane?"

Talon threw his head back and laughed, "You should have stayed back at the senate's chambers my dear commander. But instead you came to the rescue of your troops. As we speak, Kane has already snuck out of this prison and inside to where the senate and your precious girlfriend are waiting for your return."

"There is no way Kane would have been able to break out of here."

"You are fooling yourself if you believe this prison is as solid as you think. Every prison has a week spot, it just takes time to figure it out, and commander we have."

Kento growled low in his throat he had to get back to the senate, but he also had to help his troops and put these criminals back behind bars. "The only thing you accomplished Talon, was making me angry!" The orange Ronin called upon his armor and a creature which was 40 feet long and 15 feet high. With a reddish-yellow coloring to the body of this gigantic four legged beast. The large scales covered the body of the creature like armor. The stag horns and clawed feet were the main physical weapons. The deep and extremely loud roar rocked the entire district's foundation, Kento and his dragon were ready to fight. Their eyes gleamed as Kento's kanji of Justice flared to life.

Talon and the others from the southern districts were stricken with fear. Their bodies frozen as their hearts beat so fast they felt like they were going to fly out of their chests. The rumors throughout the years they heard about mystical animals and the armors turned out to be true after all. They just never realized the commander of the District of Justice would happen to have been one of them.

"Talon! You are mine, and if anything happens to them inside the senate, I will be after Kane as well. You can count on it!"


	7. Chapter 7

Within the senate building, Kane finished placing the last explosive. He was about to set them when he felt the foundation shake. Kane thought it was an earthquake, but when he heard the echo of a roar he froze in place. Sweat ran down his face and hands when he realized what happened. There was no time to waste, he had a job to do and Talon was doing what he could in order to keep the commander busy until he finished off his targets. He shook it off and set the timer and started his way into the vent shafts as he made his way to the main senate room. It did not take Kane long to arrive to his destination. He gazed down and saw the five senate members and the girl as they waited for Kento to return.

'This could not have been more perfect if I have not planned it better myself. I have to hurry up and get this done so I can get back to Talon so we can get out of here.' Kane thought as he turned his concentration back to the detonation set up. His thumb slid to the button, he started to push down all the way until a second roar rocked the foundation again.

The assassin almost dropped the detonator. He glanced down to see if anyone heard him. Kane gave a silent sigh as he saw they were in their same places as before. He decided to retreat in order to get a safe distance from the blast. It did not take long for him to find the sewer cover he snuck in from. Kane crawled in and pressed the button.

The explosion first shot out the windows and next the building's supports caved inward. The whole building crumbled to the ground as it left nothing but large chunks of rubble.

People screamed and ran for whatever cover they were able to find. Captain Yamato ordered medical and a small group of troops to the destroyed senate building. He only hoped the senate members and Kaye made it out alive somehow.

Kento stopped in his fight with Talon. He knew exactly what had happened. He paled when he thought of the ones who were inside the senate building. Kento felt his rage well up when he heard Talon laughing like a mad man from the catwalk. "You bastard! I will make you pay!"

"How the mighty have fallen. Your senate, you, and soon your district."

Kento's troops have not seen their commander so enraged. This gave them the spirit to overturn the uprising no matter what the cost. The troops took the opportunity and started to overpower the prisoners.

The prisoners were taken by surprise as they were beaten back into the cells. They stayed at the back walls and nursed their wounds.

The troops cheered as they kept their guards up while at the same time threw support to their commander.

Kento glanced around as he heard his troops rallied him to fight on. He looked up towards his dragon and gave a nod. Kento turned his attention towards Talon.

The assassin from the southern districts saw his plans crumble right before his eyes. Well, everything except for the attack on the senate building. Talon knew his escape plan no longer existed, he studied his adversary. "What will you do now commander?"

"Your men are locked back up where they belong and so will you! Do not think for one moment I will not find Kane, because I will find him and bring the bastard to justice for what he has done."

"Good luck, you will need it."

"Oh, I will not need luck, I will bring him back it is a promise." Kento replied as he willed back his dragon and armor.

Extra troops rushed inside as they surrounded Talon. They put him in chains and lead him away.

"Hold it," Kento said when he walked over to the group. He saw them at a full halt as he walked straight up to Talon. Kento narrowed his eyes into slits as he grabbed him by the shirt. "When I get back, you and I will have some unfinished business."

Talon smirked, "I will be looking forward to it commander."

Kento let go of him and ordered the small group to take him back to solitaire confinement. He studied the recaptured prison. Kento told the extra troops to increase security and to re-enforce the locks to the cells. He felt a sense of pride towards them, but at the same time, sadness for the attack on the senate building.

"Commander! Are you all right? Did you need medical attention?" Captain Yamato asked as he ran up to him.

"No captain, I am fine. Tell me about the bombing, were there any survivors?"

"Why not turn around and see for yourself?"

Kento's eyes went wide as he whipped around and saw Kaye standing there with the five members of the senate, and a silver tiger. A relieved smile played upon his face as he raced up and embraced her. He lifted Kaye up into the air and circled her around before he let her back down on the ground. "How…"

Kaye smiled at him, "At the last moment, Lightning sensed something wrong, and before the explosion, he teleported us out of there. No one got hurt just dirty from the debris."

Lightning assessed the area and when he was satisfied it was safe he vanished.

"We owe this young lady and her tiger our lives. If they did not do what they did, we would not be here. As long as the District of Dreams needs our support they will always have it."

Kaye faced the five members, "So what are you going to do now? Your building is destroyed."

"Because we no longer have this, it does not mean we do not have a second building for just in such an emergency. We will go there and rebuild. Also, we will send word to the other four districts of what transpired here and word of you two arriving." The five members bowed and left the two alone.

Kento lead Kaye away from the crumbled senate building as they headed more towards the center of the district. He glanced over towards her, "You are still going to go through with this mission of yours."

Kaye studied the area as she contemplated his question, "Yes Kento, I have to I am the one who foresaw the coming of this it is my responsibility."

"You still know you will not be doing this alone, remember I am going with you. So I figure we can rest today and get supplies. I can get things situated here and we can go in the morning, after we eat of course." Kento said with a smirk.

Kaye looked over at him and laughed, "Ok you win, we will go tomorrow after breakfast."

It did not take long for the two of them to arrive at Kento's home where they met up with Captain Yamato. Kaye decided to let the two of them talk shop as she took a look around.

The captain glanced over towards Kaye before he spoke, "Commander, are you going to tell her Kane escaped?"

"No, not unless it is necessary. She does not need to know an assassin from the southern districts could be following us.'

"Do you think it is wise to keep something like this from her?"

"For now, yes do not worry captain I will tell her soon enough."

"Hopefully sir, with all due respect I suggest sooner the better. No one knows who or what else may be out there to try and stop the strengthen of the union of the northern districts."

"Your concern is noted captain. Now, are the supplies ready?"

The captain sighed internally, he knew the commander well enough not to try and convince him of something since he already had his mind set. He was just stubborn. "Yes sir, your supplies are ready to go. Everything you requested is set, and your backpacks will be waiting by the door when you are ready to leave."

"So when we are gone, I can count on you to run things."

The captain gave a nod, "Yes commander. I will make sure everything will be like you never left."

Kento chuckled, "Make sure you do captain. I am counting on you to hold down the fort and to keep everyone safe."

"I will do my best sir." The captain smiled when he felt Kento pat him a few times on the back and walked away from him. "Well I suppose it is time for me to go. I have a lot to do. Best of luck to you both."

Kento and Kaye walked the captain to the door, "You just watch your back, and make sure no one slacks off."

The captain chuckled as he nodded, "Yes sir, I will keep everyone on their toes." He bowed and left Kento's home.

Kaye turned around and faced Kento, "So what is going on?"

"We were just getting things in order. I am having him in command until we get back from the war."

Kaye was about to respond when a knock came at the door. She frowned a bit when she watched Kento walk to the door and opened it. She saw him open the door further to let in the caterers from the nearby eating places come and set up for supper and when they were finished they left.

Kento pulled out a chair for her to sit. He watched as she walked to her seat and pushed her towards the table as he took his across from her. He looked over the table and saw a hint of suspicion twinkled in her eyes. "What?"

"You are not telling me something."

"I am not keeping anything. You know me better than that Kaye." Kento kicked himself mentally, he hated to lie he was brought up not to, but this time around his reason were his own.

Kaye's attention went back to the table, "I do know you Kento. But I am too tired to get into any kind of fight."

"Who said anything about us fighting one another? We just had an intense day and it could be getting to us. What would you say we finish up here and we go to sleep." Kento smiled at her when he saw Kaye nod. "Oh and you can take my bed, I will be taking the couch, just to ease your mind."

Kaye felt a tinge of blush as it crept upon her face and it went away just as quick. "Are you sure?" She saw him give her a nod as they continued their supper. When they were finished, the two of them got ready and separated as they laid down and slept on through the night.


	8. Chapter 8

In the darkness Kane stumbled his way to the border between District of Loyalty and District of Cruelty. Both were ruled by the firm fist of Anubis. Kane's only thoughts were focused on getting to the Warlord so he would be able to give his report before Badamon's spies beat him to it.

He made it to the barbed wire fence, Kane glanced around, no one in sight. He squeezed through the wire and crossed into the District of Cruelty. Once Kane confirmed the location of the border patrol he continued on his route.

The loud deep gong of the bells told Kane it was midnight, which meant the changing of the guards. Kane froze when he saw movement a few yards ahead of him. He followed the search light with his eyes and saw the guards changed which meant fresh eyes to keep watch. Kane swore silently, he was sure he had more than enough time before the switch to make it further. All this did was delay him for the moment.

If Kane did not move soon he would miss his opportunity and be caught. He did not want to be brought to Anubis as a prisoner. Kane knew Talon would never let him live it down. For a brief moment, Kane's thoughts drifted back to Talon. He remembered his partner was still in prison, but Talon's words echoed in his mind, 'no matter what, complete the mission and report back to the southern districts. I will be waiting.' Kane shook his head, now his thoughts were clear, he focused himself back onto the mission. He knew Anubis's guards were similar to the ones back in the District of Justice. Every form of military and authoritative positions from each district were basically trained. It was up to the recruits when they graduated which district they were going to finish their training and when the time came to represent and protect their chosen district.

The opportunity Kane waited for presented itself. He shot up to his feet and raced to the next check point. Kane flattened himself against the post, and peeked around the corner. Twice more he dodged the lights and dove into the back of a covered truck. Kane breathed a sigh of relief as he slumped down against the seat.

Loud gong of the bell tolled three times. Kane's eyes shot open as he heard the last toll. He mentally kicked himself for falling asleep in the back of the truck. Kane did not realize he lost so much time. He hurdled out of the truck and raced as fast as he could in order to get to Anubis's stronghold.

"Anubis, sir there is a message for you," A servant told him through his door.

The Warlord growled as he got out of bed and glared at him, "It could not have waited until morning?"

"Pardon my intrusion, I am so sorry to disturb you in the middle of the night. But he said it is important. His name is Kane."

Anubis did not say another word as he brushed past his servant and walked to the living room.

"I am sorry for disturbing you in the middle of the night," Kane said humbly.

"Kane. Kane, yes of course you were thrown into prison with Talon at the District of Justice." Anubis mused out loud, "So why are you here without him?"

"He stayed back in order to stick to our plan. He kept the commander busy while I blew up their sensate."

"And did you?"

"Yes, their senate is no more along with their five members and the girl from the District of Dreams."

"Did you stay to confirm the bodies?" Anubis glared at Kane in the eyes as he took him by the front of the shirt and lifted him from the ground. "You always check to confirm your kill! You should know it automatically from being an assassin for as long as you have. You just made a grave mistake!" He shoved Kane hard up against the wall.

Kane winced from the shooting pain in his back, "Forgive me!"

"Forgiveness is for the weak! You will pay for your mistake! You should also know there are never any second chances when you align with us!"

"But I can still be of use!"

"If you were smart, you would have stayed in prison and never came back!" Anubis growled at him as he threw Kane to the ground and picked him up by the back of his shirt as he dragged the assassin out back.

Kane did what he could in order to escape Anubis's wrath. He begged and pleaded but nothing he said got through to the Warlord.

Anubis willed his kusarigama to appear in his free hand. His weapon glowed as he demanded the presence of another. A huge creature which stood 40 feet long and 12 feet tall stood on its four feet before his master. The creature's body was red in color, its head had stag like horns with long whiskery feelers on the front of its face returned its gaze.

"I have something for you my pet," Anubis said as he threw Kane in front of the beast.

Kane froze in terror when he stared directly back into its eyes.

The savage beast wrapped itself around Kane and slowly squeezed him to death. First he made the assassin's bones crack. Next it squeezed even harder until the human's lungs burst. The beat roared in victory and dropped the dead assassin flat on the ground. It leaned in towards Anubis and lowered its head.

The Warlord smiled cruelly when he pet the creature's head, "You have done well. You may leave now." Anubis watched it as it vanished from sight so did his weapon. He turned around and looked at his servant, "Clean up this mess, and do not forget to dispose of the body. I am going back to bed. Do not wake me until morning."

The servant watched as Anubis walked past him and vanished from sight. He turned and saw the broken carcass which was one human is now nothing more than a worthless bag of broken bones. The servant got what supplies were needed and went to fulfill his orders.

Back with the prison, Talon felt a tingle sensation in his arm. He looked down and saw Kane's life line as it vanished. It was well known the assassin's guild dabbled with the black arts. During initiation a new member has to go through a type of physical trial to become a full member. Once the candidate survives, a piece of their life force is mystically bonded to the other assassins. So when an assassin dies their life line disappears.

Talon smiled maliciously as he watched Kane's life line vanish from his arm. "What a fool, and he actually thought he was ready for this mission. Oh well, he is not my problem any more." he said to himself as he smirked and went back to sleep.  
-

Lightning had Kento and Kaye appear in an old building where the first peace summit was held. Now it is abandoned but still kept up in appearance as it stands as the district's symbol of Trust.

Kaye watched the tiger vanish into the gem on her necklace and turned her attention towards her traveling companion.

Kento smirked as the two walked out of the building, "Now that is the way to travel."

Kaye was about to reply when she felt Kento push her behind him. He narrowed his eyes when a small platoon of the elite guards pointed their yaries at them.

"Halt, announce yourselves!"

Kento growled as he shifted into his defensive stance while he kept his eyes narrowed at them, "You have a lot of nerve to point those at us."

Electricity jumped from one end of the forks to the other in a continuous loop. They were shifted to an offense position and raised up a bit higher into the air ready to attack.

"Wait! Do not attack, stand down," A voice called out to them.

The elite guards lowered their weapons and the electricity faded away as they backed up into formation.

"There is only one person I know for sure who would start a fight wherever he goes."

Kento stood back up and relaxed as he recognized the voice, "Cye!"

"Kento, it has been what a year or so since we saw one another last?"

"Yea, something like that I think," Kento replied and realized he almost forgot someone. He moved out of the way as he smirked.

"Kaye!" Cye exclaimed as he embraced her in excitement.

"It is good to see you too Cye," Kaye replied as she embraced him back and the two let go of one another.

"We got the message of your arrival but I was not expecting you so soon."

"You will be told the whole story, but first we need to seek an audience with your senate." Kaye said as she stood before him.

Cye apologetically looked towards her with a shake of his head, "I am sorry, but we can not meet with them."

Kaye and Kento looked at one another in bewilderment and back to Cye. "What? Why? Do they not realize…"

"They do Kaye, but right now they are prepping for the peace summit meeting between all the districts."

"Wait, it is not time of the year for it yet." Kento stated in a matter of fact tone.

"You are right, it is an emergency session, a last minute summoning you might say." Cye replied as he motioned for them to follow him.

"Would the others happen to be at the conference, or just the main senators?" Kento asked as they walked into the District of Trust's senate building.

"As far as I know, it will be the main senators from each district."

"So in other words, it will be a closed session," Kaye guessed as they sat down.

Cye nodded, "But since the rumors of war were confirmed, they thought the senators would need some extra security."

Kaye and Kento frowned as they looked at one another and back at Cye. "Hold on, you are saying the senators from my and Kento's knew about this emergency session? Why did they not say anything? Why send me as an ambassador to gather those who are to help fight in this war?"

"I do not know, they have their reasons," Cye replied, "I am sorry this does not put you at ease."

Kaye's eyes softened, "It is alright, I wish they would have mentioned this before."

"You brought up something about extra security…" Kento started to say.

"We heard you have been reckless again commander. How many times do we need to remind you to use your head before diving into anything?"

Kento stood up and whirled around as he saw the other three walking up to them, "Ryo, Sage, Rowen! Man, it is good to see you!"

"Cye, you knew they were here the entire time," Kaye said as she eyed him suspiciously.

"Do not be too hard on him Kaye, we asked Cye to keep our arrival quiet," Rowen replied while the three of them sat down with them.

Kento retook his seat and within moments the six friends talked with one another as they caught up on how things were with each other. Their conversations started out light hearted, it did not take long for them to become serious.

"So you know about what happened at the District of Justice," Kaye said more as a statement than a question.

"We heard, once each of our senators got word they televised the announcement that way every single district knows what is happening," Sage replied with a slight nod.

"I am still wondering if it will help with the cause or not," Rowen mused as he leaned back with a deep frown.

"So the announcement was the actual reason for the emergency peace summit meeting," Kaye asked as she saw Cye nod. "Cye, please may I at least talk with the ones from the northern districts before they get together?"

"I can try Kaye, but you will not have much time," Cye informed her.

Sage glanced around, and caught their eyes as he looked towards the dream walker, "We will come with you when you go talk to them so they will have to at least listen when they see we all stand by you."

Cye stood as he addressed them, "I will see what I can do, but I can not promise anything."

Kaye nodded, "I appreciate you trying," She watched as he walked away from them and further into the senate building.


	9. Chapter 9

Each of the six main senators from the northern districts; Ming from Justice, Aquine from Trust, Dyson from Dreams, Cyna from Life, Pax from Wisdom, and Maxon from Virtue were assembled in the main conference room. They agreed to meet with one another before the major emergency summit meeting with the representatives from the southern districts.

"Ming, how is the rebuilding of your district of Justice coming along after the attack?" Aquine asked when she looked at him. "Were there any casualties?"

"The rebuilding is going just fine, and no, luckily there were no casualties to speak. Thankfully, Kaye's tiger sensed the danger and got all of us out in time."

Dyson frowned, "If we would have foreseen the explosion before hand, then it might have been prevented in the first place."

Pax thought long and hard for a moment, "No, I do not think it would have mattered if the district of Dreams would have foreseen the attack or not."

"What are you suggesting?" Dyson inquired studying Pax.

"I am merely saying I believe the bombing would have happened anyway. The southern districts are starting to become desperate sooner than expected." Pax replied in a cool manner.

"True they are, it seems ever since the last war, things have been going on that we can not control. It is like the southern districts are one step ahead of us. I would not doubt they have had spies planted in each of our districts since then." Maxon pointed out as he glanced at each of them.

"So then what was the point of sending your dream walker to the district of Justice Dyson?" Maxon inquired.

"She was the one who confirmed the rumors of what we all feared most, the oncoming of the next war. I was hoping she could persuade the rest of you to strengthen our union and to send your best fighter from each one with her to hopefully put an end to all of this madness." Dyson replied as he leaned back in his chair. "Kaye also carries the parchments as proof."

"The commander has already accepted the responsibility to go with her on this venture." Ming stated as he spoke up.

Cyna raised a brow towards Dyson as she was not so sure about his claim. "Then who will be the others to shoulder such responsibility of such a task?"

"We do not know. It is up to fate who is chosen to go along with them. The name of each fighter of the remaining districts will appear upon the parchments when they are close in finding them." Dyson replied in a matter of fact tone.

"We have no time for your games!" Maxon shouted standing up as he glared at him.

"I assure you, all of you this is no game. The ones chosen for this will be the key in winning this war once and for all. If we want peace, then this is what has to be done." Dyson replied looked at each and every one of them.

Pax stared Maxon straight into his eyes, "Sit down Maxon! I believe what Dyson is saying is the truth. The reasoning makes sense when you think about it. All of us have been on hard times since the start of the first war. Each one of us leaning on the other to survive and not let the Capitol and the southern districts take any more from us. The ones who are taking the heaviest burden from this upcoming war will be the ones sacrificing everything for peace."

Maxon calmed himself and sat back into his chair. "Then we have decided?"

"Yes, we are all in agreement, even though we may not like this option we have our backs to the wall and it is the only option we have left." Cyna replied with strong conviction.

"I would not doubt the commander and the dream walker have arrived here by now." Dyson stated when he looked over at Ming.

"Yes they most likely have, and knowing the commander, he probably got himself into trouble." Ming replied with a chuckle.

"Hopefully not, I remember the last time he came to visit. The whole city was turned upside down!" Aquine said in annoyance.

"I can assure you Aquine, the commander has settled down since he was here last." Ming replied with a nod.

"I can only hope so, for your sake Ming. He better have." Aquine said as she narrowed her eyes at him.

Ming squirmed a bit in his chair. He hated it when Aquine gave him that look, and she knew it. He always believed she got a kick out of making him squirm like she does.

A knock on the door interrupted their session. One of the guards opened it to peer out in order to see who had the gall to interrupt the session. "Who do you think you…Ah, sir, I am sorry, I did not know it was you. Forgive me for my rudeness."

Cye raised a brow towards the guard, "You do not need to worry, you were only doing you job. I need to speak to them. It is of utmost importance."

The guard opened the door a bit more to let him inside and then closed it behind him. He ushered Cye to where the senate members were talking.

"Senators, my friends have arrived, and if you would please give them a moment of your time. I believe it is beneficial to hear them out." Cye started to explain.

Aquine stood up and looked towards Cye, "You do not need to plead their case, we know why they have arrived. They may come and talk with us, you and your friends should also join as well. Everyone from the northern districts shall be present with what we have to discuss."

Cye smiled, "Thank you Senator Aquine," He said as he turned around and started for the door.

"Oh and Cye, one more thing," Aquine said when she saw Cye stop just before the door. "Is our city still in one piece?"

Cye looked back with a nod of his head, "Yes senator."

"What a relief, ah, yes, you may go." Senator Aquine replied as she dismissed him.

The guard let Cye out so he would be free to go and gather the rest of his friends in order to bring them back to talk with the senators.

Aquine heard quiet chuckling behind her, she turned around with a look saying she was not amused, "Oh do shut up." She sat down and waited for their return.


	10. Chapter 10

Meanwhile as they continued to wait for Cye's return, Kento could not get into their conversation no matter how hard they tried, he kept his attention over towards Kaye's direction. He watched her as she was leaning over the marble railing overlooking the grounds. Kento growled when he felt someone shoved him a bit from behind. He whirled around and faced them. "What?"

"If we did not know any better, we would think you have feelings for her or something by the way you keep looking at her." Rowen taunted with a smirk.

"For your information blue boy, I do not have feelings for her. It just has been a long time since we have been together." Kento replied in a huff.

Sage raised a brow, "Right, so that is why you keep staring at her all the time."

"I do not!"

"Come on guys, lay off. Give the poor guy a break." Ryo said in Kento's defense.

Kento looked at Ryo, "Thanks man."

Ryo gave a small smile as he nodded, "No problem, but why do you keep looking over towards her anyway if you do not have feelings for Kaye?"

"I thought you guys would remember the promise we made to her dad in the last war. You know, the one where we said we would watch out for her if anything should happen to him." Kento reminded them.

Rowen and Sage looked at one another and back at him, "Kento, we were kids back then. We were caught up in the war just like everyone else. We did not know what we were getting into."

"I had to play off that I just heard about the loss of her father. I can not keep lying to her about what really happened. She is going to figure it out. Besides, he saved our lives back then, and we owe it to him to keep our promise. " Kento replied. "You better not be telling me you are backing out."

"No, we would never back out on a promise or a friend, come on, you know us better than that. What brought this on anyway?" Ryo asked with a frown.

Kento sighed before he started his explanation, "See, when Kaye arrived we got to talking. She asked me why have I not written her back during this whole time. I told her I have received every letter of hers. But the reason I gave her for not writing back was because of my advancing in ranks up to being commander that it did not give me much time to write."

Sage leaned towards his friend, "We know your reason is the truth Kento."

"Yea, but to me it just does not feel like it justifies my reasoning. I should have kept in better contact with her." Kento replied as he looked down at the ground. "Then maybe she would not have felt so alone."

"Actually, we could more in likely say the same Kento. We did not exactly keep in contact with her either. But if she stayed with any of us instead of sending her off with the others from the district of Dreams, then how would have things turned out?" Rowen reasoned when he looked at each one.

Kento raised his head, "I have no idea, that was then, and this is now. I do not know what you guys intend to do, but I am going to stay with Kaye, fate or not, and see this through all the way to the end."

Rowen, Sage and Ryo looked at one another and gave a nod as they looked back at Kento.

"You actually have a point Kento. Surprisingly enough to say." Rowen replied with a smirk.

"A point about what." Cye asked when he showed up out of nowhere.

Kento turned around and faced him, "To help Kaye fight what else? So, what did the senate say? Are they going to give an audience or what?"

Cye nodded, "They agreed, but they also told me they want all of us to be there." He walked over to Kaye and tapped her on the shoulder. Cye informed her of what the senate members told him. He lead her back to the others, "Well, we better not keep them waiting."

During this whole time, one of Badamon's spies watched as the six of them walked through the doors on their way to go and see the senators of the northern districts. The spy phased into the ceiling rafters and disappeared.

Badamon sensed his spy approaching and stepped out from the shadows. "Report." he listened to what his spy found out on his recon mission. "I see, I must inform Talpa and the other Warlords. The southern district members should be notified as well. I want you to go and tell them and then report back to me when you are done. But do not let anyone from the northern districts see you."

The spy bowed and vanished from Badamon's sight as he made his way to the other side of the district.

'So the five of them have been keeping this secret from the little dreamer. This might be able to be worked into our advantage. Talpa will be pleased with this news.' Badamon thought to himself as he vanished from where he stood.

Talpa and the Warlords were gathered at the main room in the Capitol. They sent their senators for their districts a day ahead of the emergency summit at the district of Trust. Talpa figured they would serve better there while he and the Warlords were having a meeting of their own.

"Anubis, what do you have to report about the bombing on the senate building at the district of Justice?" Talpa asked when he took his seat at the head of the table.

"Kane came to my home in the middle of the night and informed me the bombing went off without a hitch. But I found out when I questioned him further, he did not stay around to make sure the bodies of the senate members and the dream walker as well as the commander were dead or not. So it has me to believe they are still alive."

Cale smirked as he leaned back in his chair, "So you are basically telling us that your assassin failed in his job."

Anubis snarled when he whipped his attention towards him, "He was dealt with, but we still have an ace in the hole."

Dais was not so sure about this plan Anubis had going on, "What makes you think by keeping Talon in the prison will do any good? What makes you believe he will succeed where Kane has failed?"

"Because Talon is a much more accomplished assassin. He knew Kane was going to fail that is why he sent him out to bomb the senate building. He figured Kane would either come and report to me or get caught again by the commander." Anubis shot back.

Sekhmet thought about what was being said, "You are telling us that the whole prison uprising was only a ruse so he would be able to draw out the commander in order to talk to him alone for when he got back to his district when he came to question him?"

"Yes, that is exactly what it is. When the commander questions Talon then that is when he will make his move and take him out. With the commander out of the way, there will be one less obstacle we will have to deal with when the war is in full swing." Anubis replied sitting back in his chair.

"I have been wondering something," Cale spoke up when he glanced at every one.

"What is it Cale?" Talpa asked as he finally spoke.

"What if the dream walker or one of the commander's friends find out about this plan? No doubt they will try and stop it from happening." Cale asked.

"They will be handled when the time comes. Everything is being set in motion as we speak. The next part of the plan will start to fall into place. They will not know what is happening until it is too late." Talpa told them as his laugh echoed through out the room.

"Talpa," Badamon announced as he appeared in the room.

"Badamon, tell me have they been reunited and are they going to talk with the senators from the northern districts?" Talpa asked when he motioned him to approach.

"Yes, it is exactly as you said it would be." Badamon replied as he stopped at the table.

"Good, keep your spies in play, and stay with the plan until I tell you otherwise." Talpa ordered glancing at him.

"Of course," Badamon said as he vanished from the room.


	11. Chapter 11

During the same time, the senators from the southern districts were meeting with one another at the other end of the District of Trust. The ones from the southern districts are Finitia from the District of Loyalty, Eva, District of Obedience. senator from the District of Cruelty is Kala, senator of Corruption is Siber. District of Serenity is represented by Tenna, while Tomas represents the District of Illusion. Mezu is the senator from the District of Piety, and finally Venon is the senator of the District of Venom.

"This emergency summit is nothing but a farce and all of you know it." Finitia proclaimed.

Eva stood up and looked over everyone in the room, "We know Finitia, but in order to have the northern people believe we want peace between our districts, then we have to make it look like we are participating in the efforts."

"If you ask me, this whole thing is so boring, why not just kill off the senators from the north and be done with it?" Kala asked as she drummed her fingers upon the table.

Siber smirked when he turned his attention towards her, "You were always a bit impulsive my dear, but is what I like best about you."

Kala narrowed her eyes, "Bite me Siber."

Siber's smirk phased into a grin, "Tell me where and I just might."

"Why you…"

"Alright you two is more than enough. If the Warlords got wind of us fighting one another then we might as well kiss our lives and more importantly our positions goodbye." Mezu interrupted as he stood and glared at them.

Venon shook his head, "Mezu, you seriously have your priorities messed up. But then again, you were always more concerned about power than life now I think of it."

"I heard there was a bombing on the District of Justice not long ago, but it turns out it was a failure." Tenna interrupted as she eyed everyone in the room.

Tomas gave a small nod, "Yes, but the assassin was taken care of by Anubis, and I heard it was quite gruesome."

"And we had to miss it because we had to be on our way to this dreadful place. Why do we always miss out on all of the fun?" Kala asked when she leaned back in her chair.

"Only you would think being killed off by Anubis' dragon would be amusing Kala." Tenna replied as she rolled her eyes.

"I agree with Kala, besides, it beats playing nice with the northern people. Killing and torturing brings a very high entertainment value." Finitia said with a nod.

Siber shook his head, "Look, this is not a meeting to discuss ratings, it is to come up with ideas in order to go about having the northern districts crumble under our feet."

The senators from the southern districts stood when they heard the door opening. They relaxed when it turned out to be one of Badamon's spies, the senators sat back down.

"I bring information you might find interesting." The spy said as he told them the news about Kaye and the five from the northern districts.

"So the dream walker is having an audience with the head of the north. Big deal." Siber huffed as he sat back and crossed his arms. "It is not like they will be able to get much accomplished by meeting before the emergency summit."

"Do not be so sure of yourself Siber. It seems the commander has already aligned himself with the dream walker, I would not doubt the other four will do so as well if the scrolls she caries presents the same type of proof." The spy replied. "If they are able to strengthen their union, then they will be a force to deal with once the wars start again."

Venon narrowed his eyes at the spy, "I say let them strengthen their unification. They will be against the southern district and the Capitol. There is no way they will be able to win."

"Choose your words carefully Venon, because those exact words were spoken from the last war we had with one another, and look how that turned out to be." The spy replied in a matter of fact tone. "Proceed with caution. Now I take my leave."

The senators watched as Badamon's spy vanished from their sight. The tension from the room became lax.

Tomas rolled his eyes, "Proceed with caution he says. Bah, is what a coward would say."

Tenna looked over towards him as she leaned up on the table, "Even though I agree with you Tomas, the spy may possibly have a valid point. If we do not do this right, then everything we worked for will be gone. We will have gained nothing."

"But we will have everything to gain as long as we do not anger the Warlords and Talpa. As long as we go with their plans, then they will deliver on their promises." Eva reminded them. "So for now, we will go along with this farce. Is everyone in agreement?"

One by one the southern senators stood from where they sat and looked at one another with a firm nod. The northern districts will fall, and the Capitol will reign!

Cye brought them to where the main senate members of their districts were meeting. He told the guard to let them know about their arrival. Cye watched the guard leave.

Kento glanced over towards Kaye, "You are fidgeting again."

Kaye glanced back, "Yea I know. I just hope it does not turn out like it did last time."

"There is no need to worry, no one would be crazy enough to try a bombing here. Especially when every district knows there is an emergency summit in session." Cye reassured her.

"I am not referring to the bombing Cye. Before that even happened, there was a prison riot and Kento had to go and settle things." Kaye replied when she looked towards him.

Ryo frowned, "Wait, there was no word about a riot, only the bombing."

Sage thought it over for a while, "Maybe they did not believe the riot was entirely important."

"How can it not be? There has not been a riot there ever since Kento became commander." Rowen pointed out. "That is until now of course."

"It could not be coincidence what happened at the District of Justice. There is just no way." Ryo said in disbelief.

Cye looked over towards Ryo, "What other explanation is there?"

"Maybe the senate members will be able to shed some light on things." Rowen suggested, "Looks like they are ready for us." He motioned to the door as the guard opened it.

"The senate members are expecting you." The guard said as he allowed them inside. Once he saw they were all in the room, he closed the door and stood at his post.

Kaye was just about to address the senate, but Kento beat her to it, "What was going through your heads to send Kaye out on a mission like this when you knew you were going to have an emergency summit!"

"Commander, if you would just calm down." Ming stated when he looked towards him.

Kento narrowed his eyes as he slammed his hands down on the table, "How can you expect me to calm down when you knew full well sending her as a decoy to keep all of you out of the southern districts' fire so you could make it here unnoticed?"

"Kento that is more than enough! Do not forget who gave you your position!" Ming exclaimed.

"I earned the right to be commander! There was no way it was just given to me!" Kento spat back.

Kaye looked over towards the others and then walked over to Kento and placed her hand upon his. "Kento, please do not do this, it is not the time or place."

Kento closed his eyes and sighed. He gave a small nod and pulled away from the table as he joined his friends.

Dyson caught Kaye's heated glance at him. He knew it was taking everything she had to not go off on him. He motioned for Ming to take his seat.

Ming glanced at Dyson and sat.

Aquine looked over at the six, "Yes, the commander is correct to a point. We did know what would happen before hand."

Cye frowned in slight confusion, "Then if you knew, how could you let it happen?"

"Because it was shown to me in a dream when we were towards the end of the previous war. I informed the other senate members and we promised one another we would not mention this until it has passed." Dyson replied.

"We decided at the time when his vision came to light we would have Kaye do what she could to convince us about the value of strengthening of the northern districts. The union is crucial in order to win against the ones from the south as well as the Capitol." Pax started to explain.

"Which is why the scrolls came into play. As long as she had the scrolls with the names of the champions of each northern district, then according to the codes, everything will fall into place." Maxon said as he picked up the next part.

Kaye reached into her satchel and took out the scrolls and laid them down on the table. "So what you are saying is the scrolls are nothing more than a technicality?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes. Everything has codes or rules to go by. You Ryo, being head of the civil code behaviorists should understand this better than most." Cyna replied as she looked over towards him.

Ryo gave a nod, "I understand fine, but blind siding people does not make it right."

Pax nodded, "Yes, it may not be right but it is necessary. The commander has already accepted his role as the champion for his district in order to go with the dream walker to do what needs to be done in order to put an end to the upcoming war."

Cyna stood and picked up the scroll with the seal for the District of Life. She presented it to Rowen.

The blue haired archer looked at Cyna straight in her eyes as he held the scroll. His name became visible for all to see. Rowen looked over at Kaye and gave a nod, "Looks like you have yourself an archer."

Cyna walked back to the table and took her seat.

Pax was next, he followed Cyna's lead and walked over to Sage with their scroll.

As soon as Sage took full hold of it, his name also appeared. He looked over at Rowen with a smirk, "Like I was going to let you two have all the fun." Sage turned his sights back to Pax as he watched him return to his seat.

Ryo did not even wait for Maxon to lay a hand on their scroll. He saw Maxon was a bit surprised by his rash action, but as soon as Ryo's name appeared, Maxon leaned back into his chair. Ryo looked over at the others, "Someone has to keep you out of trouble."

"Hey! We do not get into trouble!" Kento exclaimed as he crossed his arms.

"Oh really? Well I remember a time…" Ryo started to say.

Kaye raised a curious brow towards him, "What time exactly?"

"Ah…" Kento replied with a sheepish expression on his face.

There was a short burst of laughter in the room, and then everyone became silent.

Aquine stood and took the scroll from the table. She approached Cye and looked upon him with gentle eyes. "Cye, I, we all know how much you hate fighting, and it will be understandable if you did not want to take on the challenge."

Cye studied the scroll, "It is true, I never did like fighting. I never really saw the point to it. People lose friends, families, their homes and everything they cherish because of war. But I can not turn my back on my friends when they need me the most." He looked up and took hold of the scroll, "I will never abandon the people who count on me. There will be peace and I will fight along side my friends to make damn sure of it!" Cye's name on the scroll appeared and now the six have become one.


	12. Chapter 12

A guard knocked on the northern districts' conference door, "Pardon the intrusion, but it is time to meet for the emergency summit."

Aquine looked over towards the guard, "Thank you, please tell them we will be arriving soon."

The guard gave a curt nod and left them alone as he went about to relay the message.

A deep frown played upon Ryo's face, "You can not be serious about going. Especially when you know the whole thing is just to get all of you out of your respected districts so they can spring what they have in mind."

Maxon shook his head, "Ryo, we have to, there is no other way. We need to keep up appearances to everyone. All of the districts, north and south as well as the Capitol will be watching during the emergency summit."

"The people have to know we are doing everything in our power to not start another war. Even though in truth we are, but they have to be reassured no matter what." Cyna pointed out to them.

"Even if it means lying to everyone? Giving the people false hope? I do not call that being fair to them. They have the right to know the truth." Kaye asked when she looked over towards the head senator from her district.

Dyson shook his head, "Kaye, war is something which can not be avoided. War brings peace."

"War…Brings peace? Are you out of your mind? War brings nothing but suffering! The only peace you speak of is the kind of silence!" Kaye shot back at him as her eyes gleamed in anger. "Is that the type of peace you want?"

"We do not have time to get into a debate with you. The other senators and I are going to the emergency summit meeting. You and your friends are to do what you are meant to carry out. This discussion is over dream walker." Dyson replied as he glanced at the other senators and gave them a nod as he walked away from the table and towards the door.

One by one the other senators left their chairs and followed Dyson. They didn't bother looking at the small group as they left them alone in the room.

"It's turning out to be like the last war all over again." Kaye said quietly as she laid her hands on the table.

Cye looked at his friends with concern in his eyes. He walked over to Kaye's side and wrapped one of his arms around her shoulders and drew her to him. His voice was firm but soft, "Kaye, let it go. Don't keep it in any longer, just let it all go."

Cye's words echoed in her mind, she clutched her hands into tight fists. Her head lowered to her chest as she felt her tears well up in her eyes. Kaye felt her body shake, she blinked a couple of times and felt a couple tears escape from her eyes and drop onto the back of her hands. She was not going to let herself lose control, not now, Kaye was not going to give Dyson the satisfaction.

"It's all right Kaye, we're here. We're not going anywhere." Cye told her quietly as he continued to support his friend. He glanced at the others, as he saw their concern as well.

Kaye started to take deep breaths in the process of regaining her control. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have let it get out of hand."

"You were just telling them what they should have been told a long time ago. There's no shame in it." Kento replied as he crossed his arms. "Besides, you didn't do anything wrong as far as I'm concerned."

"Kento's right…" Sage started to say but was cut off.

Kento uncrossed his arms and looked at Sage, "Wait, you said I was right?"

Sage gave a nod, "Yes, and?"

Kento grinned, "Do you know how long I've waited to hear you say those words? Years man! Finally! Sage said I was right!"

A quiet laugh echoed in the room, it got their attention as they looked at one another and then turned their attention towards the source of the laugh.

Kaye lifted her fists and let them loosen as she wiped her eyes as she continued to laugh a little more.

"Kaye, are you…" Ryo started to ask with a concerned frown.

"I'm all right now, thanks. I wasn't thinking straight, I let my emotions control my judgment. It looks like I still have a bit of training to do yet." Kaye replied as she composed herself and faced them.

"There's nothing wrong with showing emotion," Sage said, "It just means you're human."

"So says the living stoic," Kento replied in a laugh.

"Watch yourself commander," Sage warned as he narrowed his eyes at him.

"Come on Sage, loosen up, I was only trying to lighten the mood." Kento replied as he elbowed him lightly in the side.

"Guys focus, we have more important things going on and we need to figure out where to go from here." Rowen said as he looked between them. "Cye, will the senators from our district be safe here without us to guard them?"

Cye gave a nod, "They'll be just fine Rowen. The peacekeepers will watch over them. They have orders to keep them in sight at all times."

"Besides, I don't believe the southern districts will be foolish enough to try anything during the live broadcast." Sage pointed out as they were leaving the room.

"Yea, but what about the ones who rule over them? What makes you think they won't use this as a distraction?" Kento asked glancing at them.

"Maybe we should split up and do a little recon on the ones from the south, as well as the Capitol." Rowen suggested as they made it to the pavilion.

"We'll be short on time, how are we going to find what we need to know in a few days?" Kaye asked studying them.

"With Lightning, White Blaze and their dragons. We understand Lightning can only teleport short distances, then White Blaze and the dragons will help with the rest." Ryo started to explain, "I'll take Anubis's districts. Kento, you take Dais's, Sage, your will be Cale's, and Cye will take Sekhmet's."

"Then it looks like I have the Capitol." Kaye finished for him. She caught Kento's expression, he was biting a bit on his bottom lip and his eyes showed concern as he frowned not liking the idea. Kaye turned and faced him head on. "Kento, don't worry, I'll be fine. Besides, Lightning will be with me and I can defend myself if I have to."

"I just don't like the idea of you there alone." Kento replied with a deeper frown.

"I've been on my own since the last war, and you guys sent me away to the District of Dreams. So now won't be any different." Kaye shot back as her eyes gleamed in determination. "Look, someone has to keep an eye on the Capitol, and the rest of you are covering the others. So what's the real reason you don't want me to go?"

Rowen frowned, he could see this was going to not turn out well. They could not afford to fight among themselves, their enemies would take the advantage and try to split them up more. "Hey, I'll go with her, then that way we'll get twice the work done with both of us there, and we can meet up sooner."

Before Kaye could even say a word Ryo jumped in, "Good idea Rowen, do you still have your connections there?"

Rowen nodded, "Yea, they'll be in hiding though, but I have an idea where they might be."

"Alright now that's decided, everyone be careful, and keep in mind Badamon's spies will more in likely be watching. They'll keep the warlords and Talpa informed as well." Sage interjected as he glanced at everyone.

Ryo frowned a bit, his voice strong and firm, "Remember this is only a recon mission. Try to keep out of trouble. We don't want to start something we can't finish. Once we get the information we need, let's meet back at the District of Justice. We'll go over what we found and figure out another plan."

Kaye glanced over at Ryo, she knew he made up his mind. She gave an internal sigh and summoned Lightning. Kaye knelt down in front of the tiger and told him what they had in mind. She watched him look over the others and when he was done, he gave a nod. Kaye rubbed the tiger's head and stood. "He's ready."

One by one they were teleported to the districts Ryo designated to investigate until the only ones left were her and Rowen. Lightning gazed at the two to see if they were set to go. He saw them nod, and a loud roar resonated through the air just before the three vanished from the pavilion.

All the while one of Badamon's spies kept close tabs on them. He did not get close enough to hear, so he could only guess what they planned or where they teleported. None the less he had to report to Badamon of what just transpired. With a blink of an eye, he vanished.

The senators from the northern districts arrived same time as the senators from the south. Each side were seated in their designated spots. No one spoke as they continued to wait in silence until the live telecast started.

Cameras and signal feeds were being tested in order to make sure there would be no problems during the broadcasts. As the time grew near for the live shoot, they showed past clips of old summit meetings. Televisions in every district were tuned to the main station. If they didn't have a television in their homes, then they were gathered into the square for a public viewing.

The past clips faded to black as the setting for the current emergency summit came into view. The cameras went down the line on each senator with a caption at the bottom of the screen identifying who each senator was and what district they represented.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the districts of the north, the south, and let's not forget our wonderful Capitol! I welcome you to the public viewing of the emergency summit!" the announcer said as the sound of applause filled the room. "Thank you everyone! Now, with no further a due, I give you the district senators!"

Ming glanced towards the southern senators, and then broke his gaze, "I'm sure everyone heard about the bombing attempt at the District of Justice. I am here to assure all of you no one was hurt and an investigation has been launched, and the rebuilding is well on its way."

'He wasted no time making his opening statement.' Finitia thought to herself as she narrowed her eyes. "Senator Ming, has there been any arrests as of late in regards to the attack?"

"We have one suspect already in custody. But don't worry, we will find the ones responsible, and justice will be served!" Ming replied with strong conviction.


	13. Chapter 13

Surprised outbursts enveloped the room when Senator Ming informed the people of a suspect already in custody.

"People! Everyone please calm yourselves. I'm sure the senator will be able to explain." The announcer said over the roar of the crowd. It took a little more time but they did quiet down.

Senator Ming sat back in his chair but kept his gaze towards the senators from the southern districts. "What is there to explain? We have a suspect and we are not telling who. All I will say is the suspect is going to be questioned, and we'll be even closer to who sent the bomber to our district."

Senator Tomas stood up and slammed his hands upon the table as he narrowed his eyes at Ming. "So you believe one of us sent this so called bomber?"

Senator Cyna glanced at Ming as she shook her head. She looked over to the southern district senators, "Nothing is confirmed nor denied about anything in regards to throwing around accusations. We are here because we want to make sure we have peace among all districts."

Senator Mezu growled, "You are being delusional senator! Everyone knows there is a war coming so why do you northern senators think there won't be when even you know it to be true!"

"Now senators! Please, this is a peace summit, people from every district are watching!" The announcer reminded them.

Senator Eva positioned a hand upon Mezu's arm as she glanced at him from the corner of her eye. She put pressure on his arm to let him know he needed to curb his emotions or else their outburst would spoil everything. "Of course, our apologies we have no purpose to trigger a riot on national television." Eva detached her hand as soon as she knew Mezu had calmed.

The announcer ran his hand through his hair and gave a sigh of relief as he felt his body loosen up. He reached into his pouch and drew out a cloth handkerchief and dabbed his forehead. When he finished he folded the tissue and positioned it back into the pocket.

The senators from the north huddled closer to one another around the table. Their voices low, "I trust those snakes as far as I can throw them with one hand." Maxon stated as he glanced at the ones from the south.

"I agree, but we do not have any evidence they have done anything in connection to the attack." Pax replied with a nod.

Ming grumbled, his hands clenched into fists, "Well we know for damn sure no one from our districts sent the assassin."

Senator Aquine felt the tension in the air started to stir once more, "Enough, do you not see this is what they want? Stop this foolishness."

Senator Dyson glanced towards the senators from the south. There was something they were hiding, but what? Their smug looks started to gnaw at the back of his conscious. He frowned a bit, he just was not able to figure out what they knew, and it drove him crazy. "There is something else they are hiding. I know it!"

"Nothing we can do about it now Dyson, let us just concentrate our focus on retaining peace through this meeting. Then once it is done, we can figure out the real truth. They will tip their hand sooner or later. We just have to be patient." Pax pointed out in a quiet tone as he eyed each one in turn.

Eva glanced over towards the other side of the table, she smirked when she noticed the ones from the north were in their private conference. "Is there something you care to share with the rest of us?"

"Eva's right, you suspect us of fowl play, but there you are on national television being secretive." Kala pointed out as she glanced towards them as well.

The senators from the north broke their formation and sat back in their chairs as they looked over towards them.

Dyson narrowed his eyes as he clenched his fists, "You dare accuse us! The audacity!"

Mezu smirked as he studied Dyson, "By the sudden reaction I say you are hiding something, care to share or shall we guess?"

Pax narrowed his eyes towards Mezu, a low growl in his throat was more than enough to show he was annoyed with the southern senators. "You are the ones who are not being straight with your answers. The people have a right to know what your districts are capable of don't you agree?"

Siber threw his head back and laughed. He turned his attention towards the other end of the table. His body very relaxed as he leaned forward in a casual manner. "You mean information like having representatives from your districts going to ours in order to conduct their own investigations? Or could they possibly be carrying out your own sense of justice?"

The senators from the north tried to hold back their shock when they heard their mission had been discovered and what was even worse, exposed on national television.

Venon raised a brow when he studied their faces, "Don't be surprised, we have our own ways of gathering information. So why don't you be straight with the people as well, they also deserve the right to know."

Ming growled low in his throat, his fists clenched tight and his eyes narrowed. How did they find out about what the commander and his friends were doing? Then it hit him, for a moment he had forgotten Badamon had spies planted everywhere. They more in likely informed the southern senators about the mission. There was no way to inform them their covers were blown. The people from the other districts as well as the Capital were going to be on the watch for them.

Bursts of outrage echoed throughout the audience. How could both sides have deceived the people for so long? What else were they hiding? Angry shouts were being called out at the senators from the audience. If this was happening here, they could just imagine what was happening in the other districts who were watching. This had to be contained and soon, or else a riot might break out.

The announcer held up his hands as he tried to calm the crowds. He looked left, and then right, things were starting to get out of hand. Something had to be done and soon. "People! Please, calm yourselves!" He bit his lip and moved back from the audience when he saw them still angry. Sweat ran down his forehead, his fingers went up to his shirt and pulled it away from his neck a bit. He felt his shoulders tighten, if something good didn't happen soon the riot will be full blown.

Within a few moments security showed and started to push the people back as they held the line. They warned them to stay back and calm themselves or they will be arrested for threatening high officials. The people carried on for a bit longer and then finally calmed. Of course they were still angry with the senators from both sides, but they didn't want to be arrested either.

'If the people in the audience reacted like this, then I'm afraid to even imagine what the people in the other districts would do. It's going to be too late to put out the fire this summit started.' The announcer thought to himself as he glanced around at the audience and then turned to face the senators.

Aquine surveyed the people in a careful manner. She decided to take her time and assessed the situation. She stood from her chair and with a calm firmness to her voice she addressed everyone. "Yes, it is true. We did send our representatives to the southern districts, but it is not for what they believe. They were sent because an inquiry was needed in order to find answers to the attack the District of Justice received. We have no need to keep the people in the dark of what's going on in the senates of the north nor the south. Perhaps it was not the best way to have handled the situation, but we are short on time, and we had to make a decision." Aquine sat back down in her seat when she finished reasoning with the people.

Tomas smirked as he looked over towards Aquine and clapped, "Very well said senator. I must say you were very eloquent with your words."

Aquine looked over towards him, "There is no need for us to be at one another's throats, this is a emergency peace summit, we can be civil."

Tenna gave a nod, "I agree of course, there should not be any bad blood between our districts. Just because there is a rumor of another war…"

"And that is all it is Tenna, a mere rumor and nothing more," Pax cut her off in a quick and no nonsense tone.

Maxon looked over towards the announcer and gave a nod, "Since everything has been brought to the table, and the people have been informed about what is going on with both sides, I suggest we put an end to the summit and return to our separate districts."

"Since the yearly summit is just around the corner, I do not see why we could not disband early. Do you have any objections?" The announcer inquired as he looked over to the senators from the south.

They glanced at one another in silent agreement, Finitia shook her head, "We have no objections."

"Then the emergency peace summit is officially complete. We appreciate all the districts for tuning in, the announcements for the yearly summit will be televised within the coming weeks. Thank you all and good day." The announcer signed off and all of the cameras faded to black as the security guards ushered the audience outside and told them to go back to their homes.

The senators from the south got up from the table and walked past the others with smirks on their faces but they said nothing and left them alone.

"So much for their secret mission, as soon as they arrive people will know the reasons to why there are northern representatives in their districts." Ming grumbled as he slammed his fist upon the table.

"There is nothing we can do about it now. Besides, we need to have faith they will be able to take care of themselves. I am sure they will figure out what happened and do the right course of action." Pax reasoned when he looked over towards Ming.

Cyna bit her lip as she rubbed her hands, "I just hope you are right, we can not afford another war like the last one."

"For all we can do now, is wait and see that is the best we can do." Dyson replied as he tried to reassure her.


	14. Chapter 14

Since the broadcast of the emergency peace summit, the sentry of the Capitol were out in full military force. The sentry went door to door and checked for anyone from the Northern Districts. They trashed peoples' homes, as well as tossed and turned businesses in order to find any trace evidence.

Messages were doled out over intercoms every thirty minutes gave orders to the people to act in accordance with the sentry , otherwise, if they would not comply, then they would be arrested for treason and be made an example of in front of the public.

Not long after the chaos started, Rowen and Kaye arrived near the docks. The two scanned the area and were a bit perplexed of what was happening. Then they heard the announcements over the intercoms, and their bodies became taut and their senses on high alert. Rowen and Kaye glanced at one another, Kaye was about to speak, but the blue haired archer silenced her and yanked Kaye behind some crates so they wouldn't be spotted.

"I told you, I thought I saw two people around here somewhere."

Kaye cautiously laid her hand upon her wrist and curled her fingers around the bo staff as she felt the adrenaline rushed throughout her body. She just about jumped from their hiding place when Rowen's hand pressed firm upon her shoulder. She glanced towards him and saw the calmness in his eyes. Kaye felt her body started to relax and returned her focus to the small group.

The search party pushed over more crates as their contents spilled out across the ground spooking the nearby cats. A few hisses and growls were sent in their direction. The small group frowned at them as they watched the cats raced away.

"Someone's imagination is getting the best of him."

"Shut up! I know what I saw it and wasn't cats!"

"Come on, we are wasting our time here. We still need to search the rest of the docks."

Rowen kept an eye on the search party with care from their hiding spot, until he knew for certain they were gone. He took his hand from Kaye's shoulder and took the lead out into the open.

Kaye followed him, "What the heck? I thought we were the only ones who knew we were going to come here?"

Rowen frowned deep in thought, "My guess is something was said at the summit. It tipped them off to our arrival."

Kaye reflected over what he said and gave a small sigh, "So much for having the element of surprise."

"They may know we are here, but they do not know how many or whom. It looks like we are going to have to blend in if we are going to be traveling around here." Rowen pointed out as he searched around and found a couple of hooded capes. "I know they are not much, but they will have to do for now."

Kaye took it and secured the cape tight as she pulled up her hood. "Rowen, what about your contacts?"

"They will be harder to find now, especially if they moved underground." Rowen replied as he secured his cape and jerked up his hood. "In the meantime, I think we better find out what more was said during the broad cast."

"Right, more in likely they will be replaying it again until tomorrow morning."

Rowen and Kaye continued on their way. The two of them stayed close to the shadows in order to have concealed themselves from any unwanted eyes. They could not afford attention of any kind brought upon them.

"Rowen…"

"Yea…"

"How much trouble do you think the others are in now?"

Rowen chuckled at her question. He stumbled a bit when she shoved him. Rowen looked in Kaye's direction with a smirk, "They will be just fine. You don't have to worry."

Kaye raised a brow when she looked back at him, "Me? Not have to worry? You're kidding me right? I remember how you guys were back then."

Rowen shook his head in amusement, "We were kids, so yea we got into trouble. But as you can see we grew up. Besides, I remember a certain dreamer getting into trouble with us."

Kaye felt herself get flustered as her face got red and warm. She tore away from his gaze and kept walking.

Rowen chuckled a bit but continued on their way. Though something in the back of his mind nagged at him and it wouldn't stop. He didn't think it would have been wise to have informed Kaye about his suspicions, he didn't want to bring in any more apprehension she already carried.

At the center of the Capitol, Talpa stood upon his balcony and peered out over the city. "What do you have to report?"

Badamon approached and stopped as he stayed behind him, "It is exactly how you said they would react, but the senators from the north slipped up and confirmed just how untrusting they can be by distributing their spies to the south."

"Are our contingency plans in place?"

"Yes my Lord, they are just waiting for the signal."

Talpa glanced back at Badamon for a brief moment, then turned his attention away from him. "Send it."

"Are you positive about this? You know what it will mean."

Talpa's eyes glowed red, "It seems you are forgetting your station and questioning my orders."

Badamon glanced in the mirror and witnessed the anger in his eyes. He cringed as he moved back, "No my Lord, I would never question your wisdom. We just do not know which spy is where or how many."

"I don't care! The Northern Districts should have learned from the previous war to never challenge the Southern Districts nor the Capitol! So I tell you again. Send it!"

Badamon bowed, "As you wish," he replied and backed away from him. Badamon left the room and walked down the hall. He knew once the signal was sent, the war would have broken wide open. There would be no turning back.

Talpa gripped the railing. His eyes narrowed and his mind reflected back to the turning point of the last war.

Explosions and fires erupted all around as he continued his search for the six children and their guardian. He yelled out for them to come out of hiding and face him. Talpa sought after the six children in order to have them been brought back to the Capitol to have twisted them into his own image. But if they didn't choose to follow him, then he would have them killed right in front of one another. Only problem, the guardian stood between them. The guardian had to die!

Talpa was a few feet away so he was able to have seen and heard what had been going on with the guardian and the children.

"All of you, go now!"

"Father, please come with us!"

"I'll be right behind you!" The guardian yelled as he blocked the path by pushing over the nearby crates. The strength of the push fueled the inferno even more, but the guardian knew it did not phase Talpa as he saw him still approaching. The guardian risked turning his head back as watched the children running for cover. Once he knew they were out of sight, he turned his attention back towards Talpa just in time to have blocked an aerial attack.

Talpa's mind was brought back to the present when he heard the rocket's shrill as it streaked in the air, in turn launched six other missiles which were specifically created for the Northern Districts. An intense low laugh rumbled in his throat and erupted into a full deranged laugh of insanity.

An awful loud sonic boom resonated in the air. It was heard on every region of the Capitol as well as the Southern Districts. Each of the representatives came out of their hiding places and looked up towards the sky and saw the rockets as they streaked by and continued on to their targets. The hearts of the small band froze in their throats when they realized it was too late. When those rockets hit, war between the districts and the Capitol started once again. They were trapped behind enemy lines with no way out, and no communication with one another. They were on their own.


	15. Chapter 15

Author's Note: I am so sorry I've been away from this fic for so long. I've been working a lot of over time at my job. Since it's also summer, I play on 3 softball teams in a town an hour away. Plus I'll be going on my real summer vacation soon. I found I've written myself into a real corner for a while, but I think I got it worked out. So, here is the next section of the fic.

Rowen stared at the missiles in the sky. He figured the others were thinking close to the same thing. If they didn't do something and fast, their homes would be in a state of devastation. But what could they do? They were all separated, and only two of them had dragons which could fly.

Rowen's eyes lit up when he realized his answer. It was going to be one heck of a long shot, but what alternative did they have left? The blue Ronin whipped his attention towards his friend. "Kaye, I need you to summon Lightning. I have to get a message to Cye."

Kaye frowned in slight confusion, "What kind of message? What are you thinking?"

"There's no time to explain, please, just call him."

'Alright," Kaye could see the seriousness in his eyes. She reached for her necklace and willed for the tiger.

Lightning appeared before them. He sensed something was urgent, otherwise he wouldn't have been called.

Rowen knelt down in front of the tiger, "I need you to send a message to Cye. Tell him to call upon his dragon and to help me intercept the missiles before they reach their destination."

The tiger gave a nod and vanished from their sight.

Rowen stood up and faced Kaye. He put his hands on her shoulders, "Kaye, I need for you to meet with my connections here in the Capitol."

"Rowen, you're crazy! What you're planning to do with Cye's help with the missiles…"

"There's no other choice! It has to be this way or there will be a massive casualty count! It is important for you to go on without me to meet with the people I know here. They'll look out for you until I get back. You can trust them."

Kaye's eyes became soft as she stared deep into his. She could see he meant business. Kaye sighed as she gave a small nod, "Fine, I'll look for your connections, but how will I know who they are or even where to start looking?"

"Go to the library, the one in the center of the Capitol. Walk to the back and show them this." Rowen let go of her shoulders and reached into his pocket and pulled out a small token with the symbol Life engraved on both sides and placed it in her hand. "Now get going! Judging how fast those missiles are going we don't have time to debate other alternatives." Rowen stepped back from Kaye and willed his full armor as well as his dragon.

Kaye watched as the archer climbed his ride and flew away. She stayed until he was out of sight. Kaye's attention was brought back when she heard yelling not too far off. She raced down the nearest alley in search of the quickest way to the Capitol's library.

Rowen started to wonder if he rushed into this plan of his too soon was such a good idea. Rushing into action was Kento's thing not his, he wondered if his friend after all these years finally rubbed off on him. Kento would so love the idea, but there was no way Rowen was going to admit it to him as he now understood the adrenalin rush he got from it.

The blue archer shook his head and scanned the sky for the missiles and for Cye. He frowned a bit when he saw neither, then a few moments passed and he heard another dragon's call. His dragon returned with a roar of his own and soon the two soared side by side.

"Glad you could make it!"

"Yea well, Lightning was a bit vague on the details. He did stress it was urgent!" Cye called back, "So, what's your plan?"

"We'll have to disarm them one by one. There can be no hesitation, it we do, then well…"

Cye frowned and looked over towards him, "You don't need to finish. I get the idea. Do you really think it'll work?"

"In theory it should."

Cye nearly fell off his dragon when he heard his response, "In theory!?"

"Look, we're running out of time! The missiles are just ahead. Either we do this now or…"

"Alright, I get the picture! How are we going to go about this?"

"First, we need to get to the closest one and look for the panel so it can be taken off. Then I can see how it's hooked up. From there, I should be able to figure out how to disarm them. Once they're disarmed, I'll need you to help me guide them into the ocean. After it's all done, we'll send word to the District of Justice to send a crew out to dredge the missiles and take them to a proper disposal area."

Cye gave a nod, he felt his stomach knotting up from Rowen's crazy plan. It was the only way they had at the moment in order to save their homes. He knew they couldn't screw it up. Cye turned his attention ahead, "Rowen!"

Upon hearing his name the archer looked over towards Cye and saw him motion up ahead. He looked on and saw the six missiles still in flight. He urged his dragon onward. Rowen pulled out an arrow as soon as his dragon soared right over the first missile. He made his way down to the his dragon's claw and settled himself inside and started working away at the panel. It took a bit because they were still in flight. 'It would have been easier if they were on the ground.' Rowen thought to himself as he studied the wiring.

Cye nudged his dragon to glide along with his friend. "Rowen! Can you disarm them or not?" There was no reply this made him feel even more nervous than before. If Rowen wasn't able to disarm them in time, many lives will be lost including theirs. Cye frowned in deep thought. They needed a contingency plan and fast. What could they possibly do if his friend's plan didn't work?

Lightning studied Rowen, he could see for himself the archer had been struggling in his work with the first missile. Being held within his dragon's claws had no stability like he would if he was on the ground. Lightning made up his mind. The tiger made his way over to Cye and gave him a small nudge.

Cye snapped out of his thoughts and turned towards him, "Lightning what…"

'I have an idea about what to do, and it won't involve either of you.'

A deep frown formed upon Cye's face as he studied the tiger. "What are you saying?"

'I'm going to teleport these missiles to a different location.'

Cye's body tensed when he heard Lighting's suggestion. "No way! You're not going to risk your life that way! You can't!"

'I have to Cye. Rowen is struggling with the first one, he won't have enough time to diffuse all six before they hit their targets.'

"Think of what this will do to Kaye! How devastated she will be when she hears you sacrificed yourself in this war! You can't do this to her! Not again!"

Lighting growled at Cye, 'As far as Kaye knows I died back in the first war holding Talpa off from getting the six of you! Cye, do you remember the promise you and the others made back then?'

Cye's eyes closed with a deep frown, his fists tightened, his voice firm but soft, "Yes, we remember and we will still keep the promise we made to you." His eyes opened as he focused his gaze on the tiger's.

'Good, I will count on all of you to keep your word. I know what must be done with my destiny in this war. The six of you are the keys to ending it and stopping Talpa along with the Southern Districts. Once the war is finally over, people can start living with one another in peace. It'll be difficult at first, but not impossible. Reason why I know this is to pass is because Dyson saw it in his dream. He hid it from everyone except his fellow council members. They swore to keep his secret.'

"If it was such a secret, how did you find out about it?"

'I sensed something was off about Dyson. So one night I visited him at his home. I reminded him he owed me for being quiet about what happened to me. I persuaded him to tell me what he knew, and he did. Tell the others it it'll ease your mind. Whatever you do, don't tell Kaye until the time is right. Don't worry, you'll know when.'

"I still think you're crazy. Kaye will figure out something happened when you don't return to her."

'I know, but sacrifice has and always will be a part of war.'

"It shouldn't have to be," Cye replied with a sad tone.

'I know, but it has to be this way. Until people learn to live peacefully with one another the cycle will continue. Cye, get Rowen's attention, I'm going to need his help.'

Cye reached out towards Lighting's head and rubbed behind his ears. He gave a small smile when he heard the tiger rumble deep in his throat. Cye stood and motioned his dragon to get closer to Rowen's. The water bearer's dragon roared louder than before which got Rowen's attention.

The archer frowned when he saw Lightning leaping towards him. He was taken back when his own dragon caught the tiger with his other claw and brought them closer together. It was like somehow it knew what was on Lightning's mind. Since they were mystical creatures it could have been possible, but now wasn't the time to figure it out, they had more pressing issues at hand. "Lighting…"

'Rowen, I've already informed Cye of my intentions. We are running short on time. Judging on the speed we're going, they will hit before you'll even get them all diffused.' The tiger filled Rowen in on his plan. He got the same reaction from the archer as he did from Cye. 'Rowen, produce a bubble around me as soon as your dragon lets go. I'll help slow down the descent, then I'll teleport them away.'

"But…"

Lightning snarled at him, 'Just do it!'

Rowen closed his eyes with a scowl. A few moments later he opened them and gave a solemn nod.

Lighting bit down upon the dragon's claw which caused it to throw the tiger into the air.

Rowen focused deep within his armor and projected the bubble around the tiger.

Lightning stared at the two, 'Goodbye and thank you.' The tiger roared extremely loud as he turned his attention towards the six missiles. He concentrated hard and his whole body started to glow. The missiles were surrounded with the tiger's aura and within a blink of an eye, they were gone.

Cye dropped down to his knees. He caught himself with his hands before he fully collapsed upon his dragon's back. His head hung low, he felt a twist in his heart as he was doing what he could to hold back the tears.

Rowen clenched his fists and closed his eyes. He still couldn't believe Lightning sacrificed himself without a second thought. How were they going to explain this to the guys? To Kaye? 'Damn it! Damn it all to hell!' Rowen thought to himself all the secrets, lies, and sacrifices that happen when people get swept up in wars. He remembered something he was told, 'War is necessary to bring peace.' it wasn't fair! None of! No one asked for them to play their roles in this! Rowen started to think maybe Cye had been right all along. There must be peace. The only way for it to happen was for the six of them to fulfill their destiny. This was it. This is the time. No more standing on the sidelines. Come hell to high water, Talpa and those who followed him would be taken down once and for all. On a Ronin's promise!


End file.
